Firing mechanism for ordnance.



PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908. II. T. WHEELER. FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANGB.

APPLIGATION FILED APR 1,190.7.

a S EETS-SHEET 1.

,No. 876,510. PATENTED JAN.14, 190s.

H-T- WHEELER.

FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANOE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.1, 1907.

8 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

ET Wizec Zer,

No.'876,510. PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908.

H. TNWHEELER. FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANOE.

APPLICATION FILED APRJ, 1907.

a SHEETSSHEET a.

mmutoz v m i I A 7 @Hozmuga PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908. H. T. WHEELER.

FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANOB. APPLICATION rump APR. 1. 1907.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

A v A meimwmwmkrmi No. 876,510. I PATENTED JAN.14, 1908.

I H. T. WHEELER.

FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANGE.

APPLIOATION FILED APRJ. 1907.

' 8 SHEETSSHEET 5.

Wizeelezi No. 876,510. PATENTED JAN.14,1Y9O8.

H. T. WHEELER.

FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANGE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1, 1907.

s SHEETSSHEET 6.

PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908.

H. T. WHEELER.

FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANOE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-l, 1907.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

anwhtoz I zlITW/zeeZe'z;

No. 876,510. PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908. H. T. WHEELER.

FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANGE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.1. 1907.

B SHEETSSEEET 8.

UNIT g HARRY T. WHEELER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FIRING MECHANISM FOR ORDNA NCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Tan. 1 4, 1 908.-

Application filed April 1. 1907. Serial No. 365.160.

, clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in firing mechanism for ordnance,and it is intended primarily to provide mechanism which may be operatedmechanically or electrically, and which may be readily inserted andremoved from the gun; and

.those shown in Fig. 1.

which will be positive and safe in action, and which cannot be operatedexcept when the breech block is in the closed and locked position.

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which show it as applied to a breech block, which has a rotarymotion to lock and unlock the same, and swings into and out of thebreech of the gun, but it isapplicable to other well known forms ofbreech mechanism.

Fi re 1 is a rear elevation of the gun fitteg with the improved firingmechanism. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the firing mechanism in theposition ready for firing, the parts being shown on an enlarged scalefrom Fig. 3 shows a section along the line 38 of Fig. 2, and looking inthe direction of the arrows. Fig. 4 is a similar view to that shown inFig. 2, except that the firing mechanism is in the open position, orready for inserting a fresh primer. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of thefiring mechanism in the position shown in Fig. 4, parts being brokenaway. Fig. 6 shows a section along the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, and lookingin the direction of the arrows. Fig. 7 is a section along the line 77ofFig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 8 shows asection along the line 88 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of thearrows. Fig. 9 shows a section along the line 99 of Fig. 4., and lookingin the direction. of the arrows. tion of the hammer and cocking lever,and illustrates the use of,the apparatus in firing by percussion. Fig.11 shows a section along the line 1111 of Fig. 6, and looking in thedirection of the arrow. Fig. 12 is a detail showing the lock for lockingthe hammer to Fig. 10 is a side elevathe cocking lever for the purposeof preventing or retarding percussion firing. Fig. 13 shows a sectionalong the line 1314 of Fig. 12, and looking towards the right, and Fig.14 shows a section along the line 13 -14 of Fig. 12, and looking towardsthe left. Fi 15 is aperspective view of the sliding bloc or wedge, whichis used to close "the breech of the receiver when the primer isinserted, which wedge carries the cocking lever and hammer, shown inperspective in Figs. 16 and 17 respectively.

A represents the breech of the gun, in I which the breech block Bengages in the usual way. This breech block is supported on the carrierC hinged to the pin D mounted in the boss A at one side of the un.

A represents the usual buffer or checking the rebound of the plug inclosing.

E represents the receiver carrying the major portion of the firingmechanism.

This receiver is provided with a sleeve E having interrupted annularribs e, which engage corresponding ribs 1) on the stem B of themushroom, see Fig. 6, thus forming a bayonet joint, and permitting thereceiver to be quickly attached to, or removed from, the stem of themushroom.

described. It is provided with a chamber 1) for the primer B", and witha )erforation I)", which opens into the powder chamber of the gun. Thereceiver E is vertically slotted, as at E to receive the wedge F, whichis held in front of the ribs e away at the top, as atf, to facilitatesupplying and removing the primer. This wedge F is provided with jaws Finwhich the harrimer G and cooking lever ii are pivoted. This wedge isprovided with a rack F", which engages the sector I on the repriminglever I, which is pivotedin the receiver, as at I, and is provided witha handle 1 i The heel of the wedge carries a socket F1, carrying thespring plunger F pressed forward by the spring F see Figs. 2 and 3, andthis plunger is provided with the thumb lug F, traveling in the slot fof the socket F By means of this thumb lug, the spring plunger F may bewithdrawn from engagement with a safety bracket K on the operating leverK, see Figs. 1 and 6. When this plunger F is withdrawn from engagementwith the safety bracket, the wedge may be moved up 'and down by hand, bymeans of the re priming lover I and the segment I" and rack- I Thismushroom is. of the ordinary type and need not be further.

This wedge is cut F; but when the breech block is in the closed andlocked position the spring plunger F will normally project into a camgroove k in the safety bracket K, and the wedge is held in the closedand locked o'sition.

The wedge is automatically moved up and down by the operation of thehand lever K j in opening and closin the breech, as follows.

The hand lever K is ast to the hinge pin L, which carries aworm segmentL, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, which worm segment meshes withanother worm segment M pivoted, as at M, on the carrier C, and this wormsegment M is rovided with an oppositely disposed arm 2 pivoted, as at Mto the rotating link N. This link N is pivotally connected to the blockB, as at N, in the usual well known way. This link N is also providedwith a cam n, which engages a stud f, and thus when the link N is rockeddownward about its pivot, by the rotation of the arm M, it will rotatethe breech block inthe direction of the arrow (see Fig. 1) forunlocking, and at the same time will cam ,the wedge F down, thuspermitting the primer to be inserted from the rear of the receiver. Thewedge will remain down while the breech is 0 on, but when the hand leveris swung bac to the position for closing the breech, the cam oove n willcam the stud f upwards until t e wed e F reaches almost the closedposition. T e further and final closing of the wedge is efiected by thespring plunger F engaging-in the cam groove is" in the safetybracket K,which will cam the wed e F further upwards to the finally closed andocked position, indicated in Fig. 6. To limit the travel of the wedge inthe u and down direction, a slot f shown in ful lines in Figs. 8 and 9,and in dotted lines in Figs. 2, 4 and 6, is provided, into whichprojects the wedge stop screw J, which is provided with a lug j,projecting into said slot. The wedge cannot be removed from the receiveruntil the screw J has been unscrewed far enough to disengage from the.slot 'f.

The up and down movement of the wedge operates the extractor P, asfollows. This extractor is provided with a cam P, which normallyprojects into the recess f, at either side of the lug f, see Figs. 5 and15. This cam is mounted on the same in P as the extractor and isnormally hel in the osition shown in Fig. 6, by means of the 001 springP, which causes the shoulder 2 to engage a corresponding shoulder p on te extractor. The extractor cam'is also provided with another shoulder pwhich'engages a corresponding shoulder p on the extractor, when thelatter is in the open position, at which time the extractor is held fromswingin further open by means of the arm whic engages the sleeveE.As-the wedge is raised from the position shown in Fig. 5, the lug f 4will strike the cam rocking said cam upwards and causing the shoulder 19of the cam engaging the shoulder 11 of the extractor, to rock theextractor upwards to the closed position, shown in Fig. 6. After the camhas passed the lugf, the coil spring P will restore the cam to theposition shown in Fig. 6. should'the wedge be drawn downwards, either byhand or by the act-ion of the hand' lever K, the lug f will strike theupper side of the cam P and will cause the shoulder p of the cam,engaging the shoulder 12 of the extractor, to rock the extractor to theopen osition, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. T e parts are shown inFig. 5 in the position they would assume just after the cam has passedthe lug f and after'it has been returned by the spring P to the normalposition. Thus it will be seen that the vertical movement of the wedgewill automatically operate the extractor.

Q represents an insulated firing pin, which is normally withdrawn by thespring g, and is struck by the insulated metal piece G on the head ofthe hammer G. This insulated piece G is electrically connected to theinsulatedspring contact R and to the binding post R, which is connectedby the cable S to the spring contact T, carried by the breech block.This engages a s ring contact T car-' ried by the gun, so that wlien thebreech block is in the closed and locked position these two contacts Tand T will make electrical connection. The contact T is connectedby thebinding post T to any suitable source of electricity, not shown. ThehammerGis pivoted on the pin G in the aws F, and is provided with an armG which engages the spring plunger U mounted in the plug F, as shown 1nFigs. 6 and. 10. This spring plunger tends to cause the hammer head tostrike the firing pin The cocking lever H is pivoted, as at H, in thejaws F, and is normally pressedtowards the hammer by means of a coilspring H shown in Figs. 6 and 7. This spring H is mounted in a recess hin the heel of the cooking lever, and one end of the spring is made fastto the cooking lever H, (see Fig. 7) and the other end is connected to acollar H, which is provided with one or more recesses h to engage theset screw h". The tension of the spring may be varied by -moving thescrew and turning the collar H through the requisite angle and thenlooking the same by means of the set screw h". The cooking lever istemporarily connected to the hammer for withdrawing the same by means ofthe hook it on the arm H of the cocking lever, and the plunger Grcarried by the hammer G, as shown in Fig. 9. This plunger is held inplace by the keeper screw g, engaging in a slot in said lungcr, as shownin Fig. 9.

It will be noted that when the hammer and the cooking lever are in thevertical or normal position, that the spring latch G will engage thehook h, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9;

Now,

I but when the cocking lever is drawn backrestore the" cocking lever tothe initial posipossible to fire the gun by percussion.

tion, and the spring latch G will engage the hook it, as before.

In order to lock the arts a ainst firing by percussion, I provire a saety pin V, shown in detail in Figs. 12 to 14, which in is screwed intothe thumb lu V, am is normally pressed outward by t e sprin V", causingthe arts to bind. The hub o the thumb lug V has a lug *0, which projectsinto a cam groove 72. in the cocking lever II. By turning this thumb lugV in one direction, the lug '0 will engage in the cam groove, and willpress the locking pin V outward to the position shown in Fig. 16,causing the same to engage in the notch in the hammer G. This will lockthe cocking lever to the hammer, and since the two are ivoted withdifferent centers, the parts wil bind, and the cocking lever cannot bedrawn back by the lanyard H". Thus, at this time, it will bel ilmus willnot interfere, however, with the hannner head making electrical contactwhen the wedge is raised to the-up er position, and the electric circuitmay be t ien closed by means of a push button, trigger, or in any otherwell known way,

The hammer G is provided with a safety lug G which engages in a groove 2in the receiver, one wall of which groove is cutaway, at e, and theother Wall slotted rearward, as at P7, see Figs. 2, 5 andlO. Thistermination of the slot a is at the upper limit of travel of the lugG-as the wedge is moved up into the closed and locked position, and atthis time the spring plunger U causes this lug G to pass the shoulder.e" and enter the recess above said shoulder, permitting the hammer headG to make contact with the tiring pin Q, and this hammer head G will atthe same time make lateral contact with the spring contact R, as shownin Fig. 8. At all other times, except when this lug Gr is in its.

- be conveniently locked against percussion firing, and it will beautomatically locked against firing by percussion, or by electricity,until the breech block and wedge are both in the closed and lockedposition.

While, for the sake of clearness in the drawings, I have shown thedevice as provided witha lanyard for percussion'firing, this beingprobably the simplest apparatus adapted to the purpose; it will beobvious that any suitable well known trigger operthe lanyard if desired.

ated mechanism may be substituted for tions might be made in the hereindescribed apparatus, which could be used without departing from thespiritof my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a breech loading gun, the combination with a receiver for theprimer mounted on the breech block, of a wedge sliding in-a guide way insaid receiver, means operated by the breech operating mechanism forautomatically reciprocating said wedge, independent means operable byhand for reciprocating said wedge, combined percussion and electric.firing mechanism carried by said wedge, and means for-automaticallylocking said firing mechanism against operation except when the breechblock is in the closed and locked position, with means for locking saidfiring mechanism against percussion firing, bu t without affecting theelectric firing, substantially as described.

2. In a breech loading gun,, the combination with a receiver for theprimer mounted on the breech block, of a wedge sliding in a guide way insaid receiver, means operated by the breech operating mechanism forautomatically reciprocating said Wedge, independent'means operable byhand for reciprocating said wedge, a'spring impressed hammer pivoted tosaid wedge and provided with an insulated head adapted to close anelectric circuit through the primer when in the firing position, meansfor automatically looking said hammer out of the firing-position exceptwhen the breech block is closed' and locked and the wedge is in theclosed position,

and means for cocking and releasing said hammer, with means for lockingsaid hammer against percussion firing, when desired, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a breech loading gun, the combination with a receiver for. theprimer mounted on the breech block, of a wedge sliding in a guide way insaid .receiver, means operated by the breech operating mechanism forautomatically reciprocating said wedge, independent means operable byhand for reciprocating said wedge, a spring impressed hammer and acocking lever pivoted to said Wedge and swinging about difierentcenters, means for automatically holding said hammen out of the firingposition exce t when l and locked and the wedge is in the closed 65 thebreech block is closed anddocke and the wedge is in the closed position,and means actuated by said cocking lever for cocking and releasing saidhammer, substantially a described. 4. In a breech loading gun, thecombinaactuate and releasing said hammer, with means fortion with areceiver for the primer mounted on the breech block, of a Wedge slidingin a guide way in said receiver, means operated by the breech operatingmechanism for automatically reciprocating said wedge, indep endent meansoperable by hand for reciprocating said wedge, a spring im ressed hammerprovided with an insulated ead adapted to close an electric circuitthrough the primer when the hammer is in the firing position,

and a cocking lever, both pivoted to said wedge and swinging aboutdifferent centers, means'for automatically holding said hammer out ofthe firing position except when the breech block is closed and lockedand the wed e in the closed position, and means d by said cocking leverfor cocking locking said cocking lever and said hammer together whendesired, and thus preventing backward motion of said hammer andprohibiting percussion firing, but permitting electric firing,substantially as described.

5. In a breech loading gun, the combination with-a receiver for theprimer mounted on the breech block, of a wedge sliding in a guide way insaid receiver, means operated by the breech operating mechanism forautomatically reciprocatin said wedge, independent means operab e byhand for reciprocating said wedge, combined percussion andelectric'firing mechanism carried by said wedge, and means forautomatically locking said firing mechanism against operation'exceptwhen the breech block is in the closed and locked position, ith meansfor locking said firing mechanism against percussion firing, but withoutaiiecting the electric firing, an extractor for the primer case mountedin the receiver, and means controlled by the reciprocationof the wedgefor operating said extractor, substantially as described.

6. In a breech loading gun, the combination with a receiver for theprimer mounted on the breech block, of a wedge sliding in a lguide wayinsaid receiver, means operated y the breech operating mechanism forautomatically reciprocating said wedge, independent means operable byhand for reciprocating saidwedge, a spring impressed hammer pivoted tosaid wedge, and provided with an insulated head adapted to close anelectric circuit through the primer when in the firing position, meansfor automatically locking said hammer out of the firing position exceptwhen the breech block is closed tially as described.

. position, and means for cocking and releas ing said hammer, withmeansfor locking said hammer against percussion firing, when desired, anextractor for the primer case mounted 1n the receiver, and meanscontrolled by the reciprocation of the wed e for operating saidextractor, substantial y as described.

7. In a breech loading gun, the combinatlon u 1th a receiver for theprimer mounted on the breech block, of a wedge sliding in a guide way insaid receiver, means operated by the breech operating mechanism forautomatically reciprocating said wedge, independent means. operable by,hand for reciprocating said wedge, a spring impressed hammer and acooking lever pivoted to said wedge and swinging about differentcenters, means for automatically holding said hammer out of-the firingposition except when the breech-block is closed and locked and the wedgeis in the closed position, and means actuated by said cocking lever forcocking and releasing said hammer, an extractor for the primer casemounted in the receiver, and means controlled by the reciprocation ofthe uedge for operating said extractor, substan- 8. In a breech loadinggun, the combination with a receiver for the primer mounted on thebreechblock, of a wedge sliding in a guide way in said receiver, meansoperated by the breech operating mechanism for automaticallyreciprocating said wedge, independent means operable by hand forreciprocating said wed e, a spring impressed hammer provided with aninsulated head adapted to close an electric circuit through the primerwhen the hammer is in the firing position, and a cocking lever, bothpivoted to said wedge and swinging about different centers. means forautomatically holding said hammer out of the firing position except whenthe breech block is closed and locked and the wedge is in the closedposition, and means actuated by said cocking lever for cocking andreleasing said hammer, with .In testimony whereof, I affix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY T. WHEELER;

Witnesses;

. WILLIE R. ADAMS,.

SAML. D. CoLn.

